Every year, the Mayor’s Commission on African American Males (MCAAM) is tasked with submitting an annual report covering the issues and opportunities facing Black men and boys in Philadelphia, and the activities and policy recommendations submitted to the Mayor, City Council, and City agencies by the Commission. 

Looking back, the last few years were unlike any year we’ve ever experienced. It brought with it events that would impact every sector of life for people all across the globe, particularly frontline workers, people of color, and people living in poverty.

In major U.S. cities like Philadelphia, that burden fell particularly hard on Black people.  Nearly two months after mandated social distancing was put into effect, the country witnessed the murder of George Floyd, followed by Dominique Fells and a rash of murders of Black trans women.  Locally, the shocking murders of Walter Wallace Jr, and Dominique Fells. traumatized an entire community and sent reverberations throughout the city. 

While protests and Black Lives Matter marches grew across the country, Black men continued to die at the hands of other Black men right here at home and at an alarming rate. These tragic incidents revealed the deep inequities and unsettling conditions that exist across our country and particularly within our City.

Marking the 30th anniversary of the creation of MCAAM, we look back at what we’ve left behind in order to learn from our past so that we may bring forward what we need to build a stronger future for Black men and boys.